The next step in the war has begun

Of course, the war has never quite ended. But the signs that the pals think the way to Gaza is the way to the West Bank are there for all but the blind to see. Then again, that blind includes the EU, the UN, and the mainstream media, as well as the State Dept. and the Bush administration.

Witness for the prosecution:

Earlier Tuesday evening, IDF troops on patrol in the village of Taffuh, near Hebron, were attacked by a crowd of about 500 people hurling stones and concrete blocks. After an IDF soldier was lightly wounded in the head, the soldiers fired rubber bullets and teargas in order to disperse the crowd.

Witness number two:

A hand grenade or bomb was thrown at an IDF patrol on the perimeter of Moshav Netiv Ha’asara on Tuesday night.

No one was wounded and no damage was reported in the attack near the northern Gaza Strip security fence, the army said.
Since the army left Gaza, the community has become the focus of Palestinian attacks.

The incident occurred a day after a group of Palestinians crossed into the community and threw stones at soldiers, forcing them to fire warning shots in the air to drive them away.

Witness the third, which of course includes the famed palestinian tolerance for other religions:

Palestinians placed a pipe bomb near Rachel’s Tomb, south of Jerusalem. No injuries or damages were reported. IDF troops found a second bomb nearby and blew it up in a controlled manner. (Efrat Weiss)

And the most damning witness of all:

Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar told tens of thousands of excited Palestinians at a Gaza Strip rally Tuesday his organization would continue to fight Israel following the withdrawal from Gaza, and vowed to liberate Haifa and Jaffa from the hands of its “Zionist occupiers,”.

“We will win in Jerusalem and in Palestine, the whole of Palestine,” al-Zahar told the cheering crowd. During the event, participants yelled out “Allahu akbar” (God is great) and chanted in support of Izz al-Din al-Qassam, Hamas’ military wing, calling on the group to continue the liberation operation and refuse to disarm.

But the EU thinks Hamas will ultimately be co-opted into a “peaceful” palestinian state.

Right.